U.S. patent number 10,910,808 [Application Number 15/967,128] was granted by the patent office on 2021-02-02 for cord reel including a conductive polymeric sheath with a conductive emi drain.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Konnectronix, Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is John Alford, Christopher Gazdic, Chris Hinojosa, John S. Runzel. Invention is credited to John Alford, Christopher Gazdic, Chris Hinojosa, John S. Runzel.
United States Patent |
10,910,808 |
Alford , et al. |
February 2, 2021 |
Cord reel including a conductive polymeric sheath with a conductive
EMI drain
Abstract
A cord reel cable including a polymeric sheath with a conductive
EMI drain and a method of manufacture therefor. The cord reel
includes a cable comprising power and data conductors, as wells as
a single drain wire which is grounded to a cord reel housing or
spool or the like. The drain wire contacts an outer ETFE layer
surrounding the cable in order to provide EMI shielding to the
cable.
Inventors: |
Alford; John (Kenosha, WI),
Hinojosa; Chris (Winthrop Harbor, IL), Runzel; John S.
(Elgin, IL), Gazdic; Christopher (Arlington Heights,
IL) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Alford; John
Hinojosa; Chris
Runzel; John S.
Gazdic; Christopher |
Kenosha
Winthrop Harbor
Elgin
Arlington Heights |
WI
IL
IL
IL |
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Konnectronix, Inc. (Waukegan,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
1000005338218 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/967,128 |
Filed: |
April 30, 2018 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20180269673 A1 |
Sep 20, 2018 |
|
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
14618545 |
Feb 10, 2015 |
9960587 |
|
|
|
62090163 |
Dec 10, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01B
7/00 (20130101); H02G 11/02 (20130101); B65H
75/4434 (20130101); B65H 2701/34 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H02G
11/02 (20060101); H01B 7/00 (20060101); B65H
75/44 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: McCarry, Jr.; Robert J
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Vitale, Vickrey, Niro & Gasey
LLP
Parent Case Text
PRIORITY OF INVENTION
This Application is a Continuation of Ser. No. 14/618,545 filed on
Feb. 10, 2015, which claims priority to Provisional Application No.
62/090,163, filed Dec. 10, 2014.
Claims
We claim:
1. A cord reel assembly comprising: a) a housing, b) a spool
located within the housing; and c) at least one cable for winding
and unwinding around the spool, the cable having a substantially
round cross-sectional profile comprising: i) at least one power
conductor; ii) at least one drain wire; iii) a conductive polymeric
layer surrounding the at least one power conductor, wherein the
conductive polymeric layer contacts and surrounds at least a
portion of the at least one drain wire, and at least one end of the
at least one drain wire is not covered by the conductive polymeric
layer and contacts at least one of the housing or the spool.
2. The cord reel assembly of claim 1, wherein the conductive
polymeric layer is ETFE.
3. The cord reel assembly of claim 1, wherein the drain wire is
comprised of tinsel.
4. A cord reel assembly comprising: a) a housing, b) a spool
located within the housing; and c) at least one cable for winding
and unwinding around the spool, the cable having a substantially
round cross-sectional profile comprising: i) at least one data
conductor; ii) at least one drain wire; iii) a conductive polymeric
layer surrounding the at least one data conductor, and wherein the
conductive polymeric layer contacts and surrounds at least a
portion of the at least one drain wire, and at least one end of the
at least one drain wire is not covered by the conductive polymeric
layer and contacts at least one of the housing or the spool.
5. A cord reel assembly comprising: a) a housing, b) a spool
located within the housing; and c) at least one cable for winding
and unwinding around the spool, the cable having a substantially
round cross-sectional profile comprising: i) at least one data
conductor; ii) at least one power conductor; iii) at least one
drain wire; iv) a conductive polymeric layer surrounding the at
least one data conductor, and the at least one power conductor,
wherein the conductive polymeric layer contacts the at least one
drain wire.
6. The cord reel assembly of claim 5, wherein the at least one end
of the at least one drain wire is not covered by the conductive
polymeric layer.
7. A cord reel assembly comprising: a) a housing, b) a spool
located within the housing; and c) at least one cable for winding
and unwinding around the spool, the cable having a substantially
round cross-sectional profile comprising: i) at least one data
conductor; ii) at least one power conductor; iii) at least one
drain; iv) a conductive polymeric layer surrounding the at least
one data conductor, and the at least one power conductor, wherein
the conductive polymeric layer contacts the at least one drain.
8. The cord reel assembly of claim 7, wherein the conductive
polymeric layer is ETFE.
9. A cord reel assembly comprising: a) a housing, b) a spool
located within the housing; and c) at least one cable for winding
and unwinding around the spool, the cable having a substantially
round cross-sectional profile comprising: i) at least one drain
wire; ii) at least one conductor; iii) a conductive polymeric layer
surrounding the at least one conductor, wherein the conductive
polymeric layer contacts the at least one drain wire and conducts
to at least one of the housing or the spool.
10. A cord reel assembly comprising: a) a housing, b) a spool
located within the housing; and c) at least one cable for winding
and unwinding around the spool, the cable having a substantially
round cross-sectional profile comprising: i) at least one drain
mechanism; ii) at least one conductor; iii) a conductive polymeric
layer surrounding the at least one conductor, wherein the
conductive polymeric layer contacts the at least one drain
mechanism.
11. A cord reel assembly comprising: a) a housing, b) a spool
located within the housing; and c) at least one cable for winding
and unwinding around the spool, the cable having a substantially
round cross-sectional profile comprising: (i) at least one data
conductor; (ii) at least one power conductor; (iii) at least one
drain wire; (iv) a conductive polymeric layer surrounding the at
least one data conductor, and the at least one power conductor,
wherein the conductive polymeric layer contacts the at least one
drain wire.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for the retractable
delivery of an electrical connection via cord reel. More
specifically, the present invention relates to a cord reel having
multiple conductors comprising an outer jacket of a conductive
polymeric material and drain or drain wire amongst the conductors
which contacts the outer jacket in order to reduce or eliminate
electromagnetic interference into the cable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Retractable reels have been used in various applications to
retractably store various types of cables. For example, one
successful cord reel assembly has been developed that comprises a
spool on which the extendable portion of cord is held, an expansion
chamber in which a fixed length of cable is spirally wound. The two
cable portions are connected, typically in or adjacent the hub of
the spool. As the spool rotates the spirally wound, fixed cable
expands and contracts within the expansion chamber. An example of
reels of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,396 to
Burke, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by
reference.
In order to provide a usable product for a variety of operating
environments for such cord reels, it is necessary to provide a
mechanism to enable the prevention of interference (e.g., EMI/RFI).
However, since the kinds of cords reels involved often require
repeated winding and unwinding, whatever EMI protection is used
needs to be flexible and durable.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Those of skill in the art understand that conductive shields (e.g.,
copper layers) may be used to great success in preventing EMI and
cross talk in a cable. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 7,692,099
(Burke), teaches (among other things) the use of tinned copper
shielding comprising 38AWG tinned copper with an inner shield
minimum of 90% EMI coverage and an outer shield minimum of 85%
coverage. Likewise, such teachings include the use of a copper
shield for individual conductors to eliminate crosstalk between
such individual conductors in the cable. Such prior art approaches
further teach the use of additional layers outside the bundle of
conductors to improve durability, such as a further Teflon layer
and a braid jacket covering. Such approaches, while useful in a
variety of applications, have their limitations. For instance, such
shields will have a tendency to "whisker" or fray over time.
Additionally, the use of multiple layers may limit the flexibility
of the resulting cable, depending upon the desired application.
Alternatively, certain prior art approaches teach the availability
of encapsulation techniques for wire assemblies. However, many
materials for encapsulation do not have the desire strength and/or
flexibility to be employed in a cord reel cable, nor do many
materials have the necessary flame, smoke and toxicity resistance
required of many cord reel assembly applications. In addition, such
approaches do not enable the production of cable assemblies with
multiple wire components connected to one another, such as the
"flat-round" cable assembly referenced above. For instance, in
order to enable the manufacture of a "flat-round" cable, it is
necessary to have an exposed cable end at the point of the
flat-round junction. Thus, the use of encapsulate wire, without
more, would require removing at least a portion of the
encapsulation which would unduly degrade or eliminate any shielding
provided by the encapsulation.
In sum, none of these prior art approaches peimit a cord
reel_assembly to provide a thinner or single layer covering for a
multiconductor cable with durability and EMI/crosstalk
resistance.
What is needed is thin, durable and EMI/crosstalk resistant
solution for the manufacture of a cord reel assembly.
Definition of Terms
The following terms are used in the claims of the patent as filed
and are intended to have their broadest plain and ordinary meaning
consistent with the requirements of the law.
"ETFE" is a polymer which is also known as
poly(ethene-co-tetrafluoroethene).
A "drain wire" is a single conductor which connects the ETFE to
ground.
"Tinsel" is an electrical wire for application when high mechanical
flexibility is required.
Where alternative meanings are possible, the broadest meaning is
intended. All words used in the claims set forth below are intended
to be used in the normal, customary usage of grammar and the
English language.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The apparatus and method of the present invention generally
includes a cable comprising a bundle of conductors including at
least one power conductor, at least one data conductor, and a
single drain wire which is grounded to a cord reel housing or spool
or the like. The drain wire contacts an outer conductive polymeric
layer, such as ETFE in order to provide EMI shielding to the cable.
The ETFE is vacuum sealed around the bundle of conductors and does
not extend to at least one end of the bundle of conductors so as to
facilitate the connection of the cable to another wire or cable in
the assembly (e.g., by soldering). The cross section of the cable
further includes a core, with the bundle of conductors being spaced
around the core such that the drain wire is substantially opposite
the power conductor so as to minimize crosstalk. Further, the
conductors other than the drain wire may be coated with a Teflon or
similar coating, and the conductors are twisted around one another
along the length of the cable so as to provide a helical
configuration to better resist EMI and crosstalk.
The immediate application of a present invention will be seen in
flat-round cable assembly, though those of skill will see that the
present invention could be applied to other cable assemblies where
the complete encapsulation of the cable may not be practical.
Thus can be seen that one object of the present invention is to
provide a flexible, thin and durable EMI shield for a cable in a
cord reel assembly.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an EMI
shield mechanism for a non-encapsulated cable in a cord reel
assembly.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cord
reel assembly with a drain for transferring external EMI away from
data conductors in the cable.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cord
reel assembly having superior EMI and crosstalk resistance.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cord
reel assembly which reduces or eliminates whiskering or fraying in
a cable while still providing acceptable flame, smoke and toxicity
resistance.
It should be noted that not every embodiment of the claimed
invention will accomplish each of the objects of the invention set
forth above. In addition, further objects of the invention will
become apparent based on the summary of the invention, the detailed
description of preferred embodiments, and as illustrated in the
accompanying drawings. Such objects, features, and advantages of
the present invention will become more apparent in light of the
following detailed description of a best mode embodiment thereof,
and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a cable in accord with a preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of a cord reel assembly in accord
with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows a partially exposed side view of a spool and cable in
accord with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Set forth below is a description of what is currently believed to
be the preferred embodiment or best examples of the invention
claimed. Future and present alternatives and modifications to this
preferred embodiment are contemplated. Any alternatives or
modifications which make insubstantial changes in function, in
purpose, in structure or in result are intended to be covered by
the claims in this patent.
FIG. 1 shows a cable 10 having a cross sectional profile in accord
with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. The
cable 10 comprises a series of conductors 12, including at least
one power conductor 14 and at least one data wire 16. These
conductors are preferably of a thickness or wire gage of 28AWG, and
are made of a 19/40 stranded 135 alloy for this preferred
embodiment. In addition, all of the conductors 12 of this
embodiment preferably include an insulation layer 18 made of
0.006'' of FEP or Teflon, except for the single drain wire 20. The
drain wire 20 connects at one end to ground, such as a cord reel
housing or spool (not shown).
Surrounding the bundle of conductors 12 is an outer layer 30 made
up of a conductive polymer such as PVC or ETFE to provide a
flexible yet strong cover for the conductors 12 while having
desirable flame resistance, smoke resistance and non-toxicity
characteristics. The conductive polymer, however, does not fully
encapsulate the cable, such that at least one end of the wire is
exposed so as to enable the cable to connect to another cord (e.g.,
a flat wire) in a cord reel housing 110 (as detailed in FIG. 2), as
well as to enable the connection of the drain wire to ground via a
cord reel housing or spool (also not shown). One of the advantages
of using such a drain wire 20 is that because the outer layer 30 is
typically an extruded polymer, such a material makes it hard to
crimp the outer layer 30 to a draining source such as a chassis,
housing or spool. Such combination of a conductive polymeric outer
layer 30 and drain wire(s) 20 thus reduce or eliminate radiated
emissions that enter the outer layer 30 from the conductors 12
inside of the shield and emissions that might come from the outside
of the outer layer 30. These emissions must be drained to a source
such as the chassis. Thus, the drain wire(s) is used to absorb the
emissions, and the drain wire(s) are easily crimped to allow the
radiated emissions to dissipate. Of course, those of skill in the
art will understand that more than more drain wire can be used with
the present invention, and that a given drain wire may be outside
of the ETFE or similar outer jacket, so long as the drain wire is
in contact with the surface of the outer jacket.
Preferably, the conductors 12 are twisted around a cotton core 40
or similar structure to maintain a circular cross section
configuration along the length of the cable, e.g., so as to make
one 360 degree rotation around the core along a 1'' length of the
cable. Such a configuration provides contact around the interior
circumference between the outer layer 30 and the drain wire 20 so
that any EMI that permeates the outer layer 30 can be drained away
to ground. In addition, in its most preferred embodiment, the drain
wire is spaced apart from the power conductor 14 so as to be
substantially across from the cotton core 40. This spacing provides
superior resistance to any crosstalk adversely impacting the
performance of the cable 10.
The conductive polymeric layer can be terminated to a connector
without the at least one drain wire by having the connector strain
relief grip/crimp onto the jacket and connect to the connector
housing for a shield connection.
Those of skill having the teaching of the present invention will
realize, however, that alternative embodiments can employ a drain
feature which does not require a "drain wire," per se, but does
include a drain for draining EMI. For instance, the conductive
polymeric layer 30 can also be ter ninated to the housing of a
connector if a mold is formed with a conductive polymeric material
that contacts the connector housing for a shield connection. A
further alternative for providing such a drain could be enabled by
terminating the conductive polymeric layer 30 to a housing of a
device with a metallic cord grip or kellum that secures itself upon
the conductive polymeric layer and directly contacts the housing.
Still a further alternative drain could be enabled in the absence
of the preferred drain wire through applying a conductive heat
shrink for direct connection between two conductive polymeric
layers or to secure a separate connection point for draining EMI.
Such alternatives, however, are believed to be inferior at present
to the preferred embodiment of the drain wire insofar as extended
wear or tear in the conductive polymeric layer 30 could cause gaps
or breaks in that layer which are believed to cause unacceptable
degradation in the EMI shielding in the absence of the preferred
drain wire (in contrast to the alternative drains falling within
the scope of the present invention).
The present invention can be used in a cord reel assembly 100 as
shown in FIG. 2. The cord reel assembly of this example includes a
housing 110, a cover 120, and a spool 130. The spool 130 can be
controllably wound or unwound through the use of (for example) a
ratchet 122, which along with a spring retainer 124 operates to
control the mechanics of winding and unwinding the cord reel. In
this embodiment, the cable 10 is a round cable which terminates at
one end inside the inner connection chamber 140 located inside of
the spool 130 in order to connect to a further cable or electrical
connection (such as a flat cable 160). The inner connection chamber
140 of this example embodiment is detailed further in FIG. 3, which
includes a splice 142 for connecting the cable and the flat cable
160, a drain mechanism 144, which can be a connection from an
exposed end of the drain wire 20 to a ground lug 146, or
alternatively can comprise one of the alternate drains detailed
above.
The above description is not intended to limit the meaning of the
words used in the following claims that define the invention.
Rather, it is contemplated that future modifications in structure,
function or result will exist that are not substantial changes and
that all such insubstantial changes in what is claimed are intended
to be covered by the claims. For instance, the specific wire gages
used in the examples of the preferred embodiments of present
invention is for illustrative purposes with reference to the
example drawings only. Similarly, while the preferred embodiments
of the present invention are focused upon use within a cord reel
assembly, those of skill in the art will understand that the
invention has equal applicability to multi-conductor cables which
cannot be completely encapsulated but still required EMI and cross
talk resistance. Likewise, it will be appreciated by those skilled
in the art that various changes, additions, omissions, and
modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments without
departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such
modifications and changes are intended to be covered by the
following claims.
* * * * *